Originally from Eunice Louisiana, Dr. Nathan Rabalais is a Cajun filmmaker, francophone poet, guitarist, musicologist, Cajun Studies scholar, and associate professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Rabalais specializes in the folklore, literature, and popular culture of francophone North America, particularly in Louisiana and Acadian communities of maritime Canada. He received an undergraduate degree in music theory, composition, and guitar performance from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette followed by graduate studies in musicology at the University of Strasbourg, France. He completed his PhD in French from Tulane University and the Université de Poitiers in France. His most recent work in academic circles and his documentary film Finding Cajun (2019), which will be screened during his residency, focus on the intersections of ever-evolving language and identity in historical and contemporary Louisiana.
Part of “Our Louisiana Heritage in Arkansas”
Class Visit and Q&A with FREN 3312 Students (Advanced French Civilization)
March 12, 2024 | 2:40-3:55 pm | Irby Hall 208
Documentary Film Screening: Finding Cajun (dir. Nathan Rabalais; 52 min.) with talk and Q&A, followed by a reception in the Windgate Atrium
Mar. 12, 2024 | 5:30-7:30 pm | Windgate Center Art Lecture Hall 167
Class Visit with MUS 3303 Students (Music History II) and guitar performance
Mar. 13, 2024 | 10-10:50 am | Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall 101
Mar. 13, 2024 | 11-11:50 am | Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall 101
An Evening with Dr. Nathan Rabalais: Poetry Reading, Guitar Performance, and Book Signing (Le Hantage and Folklore Figures of French and Creole Louisiana)*
Mar. 13, 2024 | 5:30-7 pm | Historic Arkansas Museum amphitheater, 200 E. 3rd Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
*Doors open for seating at 5:00 pm. Free and open to the public with no tickets required.